Michael P. Regan, Columnist

Are You Missing Out on the Great Market Melt-Up?

Investing in the momentum is tempting. But it’s not really about the economy—and that’s scary.

January 11, 2018 at 9:00 AM UTC

Michael P. Regan is the global team leader for cryptocurrencies at Bloomberg as well as a former senior markets editor and former Americas team leader for Bloomberg's Markets Live blog. He has covered Wall Street for Bloomberg News as a columnist and editor since 2007. He previously worked for the Associated Press.

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the January 15, 2018 issue of businessweek.

Make no mistake, fear is running amok on Wall Street these days—fear of missing out.

As the S&P 500 got off to its best start to a year since 1999 and the Dow Jones industrial average topped 25,000, it’s clear that fear of missing out—FOMO—has jumped to the top of the fear charts with a bullet. It’s risen above worries about North Korea’s “Rocket Man” and the unpredictable U.S. president who revels in provoking him. It’s blown past lingering concerns about the European Union coming apart at the seams. It’s even eclipsing the most popular talking point of fear merchants everywhere: marketwide valuations that in many cases are approaching the highest they’ve ever been.